Pneumatic dispatich system



March .27, 1934. c. 5. JENNINGS PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEM 2 Sheets-She'd 2 Filed Nov. 11, 1930 Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEM Application November 11, 1930, Serial No. 494,882

4 Claims.

- 1y equipped with one or more doors or other removable closure members for afiording access to the sending tube for dispatching carriers as well as to provide for removal of arriving carriers.

To assure proper operation ofa system of this w kind, the air stream should pass through the receptacle freely, or at least without undergoing any objectionable restriction. For this reason the ends of the tubes within the terminal are kept normally open and it thus might be possible under some conditions for a carrier to pass directly from a delivery tube to a sending tube. Accordingly it is one of the primary objects of the present invention to improve the construction of terminals of the class referred to by providing improved means, preferably of simple and efiicient construction, forpreventing' a carrier from passing directly from a delivery'tube to a dispatch tube. A further object to provide apparatus for these purposes having an improved construction and relative arrangement of parts.

In accordance with this invention these desirable objectives may be attained by providing movable means, such as a member disposed normally in position to obstruct the article trans- '5 lating passage provided by the dispatch tube and yet so proportioned and arranged as not to restrict the air current to any objectionable degree. Preferably this member is adapted either by its own weight or by a resilient or equivalent means such as a spring to remain normally in a" posi tion to obstruct the dispatch passage, but is mo'vable in' some convenient manner to a. position to clear the dispatch passage, as by engagement with j a carrier intended for the dispatch tube. 'While' in its normal position, this movable means obstructs the dispatchpassage so as'to preclude the possibility of the undesirable results previously pointed out herein, it does not in anyway interfere' with the proper operation of a terminal of theclass described.

In the drawings :1; Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a pneumatic dispatch terminal equipped with a side door;

Fig.- 2 isan enlarged elevationalv ew O h receiving end of a down-sending tube equipped with an improved guard member; v

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the guard shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a terminal of the end door type;

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 6, showing a double side door type of terminal;

V Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the terminal shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevatio'nal'view show. ing the receiving end of a down-Sending dis; patch tube equipped with another form oi guard member; and I Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the guard member shown in Figs. 5 and '7.

The features of the invention are illustrated as embodied in terminals of the type disclosed in the patents to Cowley, Nos. 1,769,676 and 1,769, 677, both issued July 1, 1930, to which reference may be had for a more complete explanation of the purposes and mode of operation of apparatus of this character. As shown in Fig. 1 a terminal of this type comprises an air-tight re-' ceptacle 10, which maybe rectangular in form and equippedwith a normally closed side door 1'1. Aidown-sending' dispatch tube 12 extends through the bottom of this receptacle and, is positioned therein to'be" accessiblefrom the outsidewhen the door 11 is opened. The receiving end of this tube (Fig. 2) is fitted with an internal 1y beveled ring 13' which provides an outwardly flaring mouth or entrance to assist in guidj ing carriers: into the tube. This ring carries circumferentially spaced ears 14 in which a pivot", pin 16 is disposed. A guard member 1'7", equipped with similar ears or lugs 18; 19 which are bored to receive the pin 16, isjournaled thereori'so that this memb rmay pivot'or swing transversely ofv the tube. The outer or free end portion' 2l or: the guard member is preferably curved or inclined upwardly or away from the entranceto the tube and the member is so proportioned that theunlderside of the body thereof normally bears against the ring 13 adjacent the pivotal mounting 16 so as to support this member substantially in the position shown in Fig. 2 in which'it will be noted that the member is effective for obstructing the dispatch passage sufiiciently to prevent the introduction of carriers therein and yet does not restrict this passage to Such an extent as to interfere with the proper circulation of air thereh o It will also be no ed a e u s 8 anc 19 p o.- 110 BIT ject beyond the pivotal mounting 16 and function as abutment means for engagement with an abu ment 22 formed on the ring 13 in a position to limit upward movement of the member 17 to sub stantially the position shown in the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2. It will be observed that when this member occupies its upper position it leaves the entrance to this tube substantially unobstructed so that carriers may be readily inserted therein. The abutment 22 and the cooperating lugs 18 and 19 are also so arranged as to limit upward movement of the member 17 at a point where it will be in a condition of unstable equilibrium and will therefore tend normally to drop down into the full line position as shown in Fig. 2. It should also be noted that this dispatch tube is arranged in the terminal 10 so that the pivotal mounting 16 is disposed on the side of the tube remote from the door 11. In this way the upwardly turned end portion 21 of the guard member is readily accessible from the doorway for engagement by the nose of a carrier to be introduced into the tube and it will be seen that on engagement by a carrier the guard member will be moved readily to its upper position where it will not interfere with the introduction of such carriers into the tube.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the receptacle 26 is equipped with a normally closed end door 27. An article delivery tube 28 enters the bottom of this receptacle adjacent the end wall thereof remote from the door 27 and a curved guard member 29 is arranged for directing carrier issuing from the tube 28 through an arcuate path to a position adjacent the door. This receptacle is also fitted with a down-sending dispatch tube 12 which is equipped with a guard member 17 and is in all respects similar to the dispatch tube described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2; In this modification also the member 3 17 is mounted to pivot at the side of the tube 12 which is the more remote from the door 2?. It will be seen that with this arrangement the upper position of the guard member 17 not only is an unstable one as previously described but also if v for any reason this member should stick in its its lower position to obstruct the entrance to this tube.

In the modification in Figs. 5 and 6 the terminal comprises an air-tight receptacle 31 equipped with normally closed side doors 32 and 33 disposed in substantially opposed relation midway of the side walls of the receptacle. The delivery tube 34 enters the bottom of the receptacle adjacent one of the end walls thereof and an arcuate guard member 36 is arranged for directing articles issuing from the tube 34 to the other end of the chamber provided by this receptacle. A down-sending dispatch tube 3'7 also enters the receptacle through the fioor at a point closely adjacent the delivery tube and preferably in a location readily accessible from either of the side door openings. The dispatch tube 37 (Fig. 7) is equipped with an end ring 38 similar to the ring 13 described with reference to Fig. 2 and provided with a pivotal support 39 on which a guard member 41 is mounted to swing between the lower position shown in full lines in Fig. '7 and the upper position shown in dot and dash lines in this figure.

In this modification the pivotal mounting for the guard member is preferably arranged on the side of the dispatch tube adjacent the delivery tube and at a point spaced approximately equally from the side doors 32 and 33. The outer or free end portion of this guard member preferably is in the form of laterally diverging tongues 42 and 43 which are inclined or curved upwardly or away from the entrance to the tube 3'7. It will be seen that the upwardly turned end portion of one of these tongues is disposed in a position to be readily accessible from one doorway while the end portion of the other tongue is likewise accessible from the other doorway. The member 41 is therefore adapted to be moved from its lower or full line position in Fig. 7 to the upper or dot and dash line position by engagement of the nose of a carrier with one of the tongues 42 or 43 to permit introduction of such carrier into this dispatch tube. This guard member is also provided with abutment means 44 for engagement with an abutment 46 on the ring 38 to limit upward movement so that when in its upper position the guard is in a condition of unstable equilibrium and ends therefore to drop to the lower or full line position as shown in Fig. 7 in which its under surface bears on the ring 38 adjacent the pivotal mounting 39. Furthermore it will be seen that the 'upwardly turned tongues 42 and 43 permit an adequate flow of air into the dispatch tube to assure proper circulation at all times.

While several embodiments of this invention have been shown and described it will be understood that I am not limited thereto and that other embodiments might be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a pneumatic dispatch terminal comprising a substantially air-tight receptacle, a normally closed door for the receptacle, and delivery and sending tubes terminating within the receptacle, the combination of a member pivotally mounted for movement between a position across the entrance to the sending tube and a position wherein the member leaves the entrance to this tube substantially unobstructed, this member being normally in the former of these positions, and being pivoted adjacent the sending tube at the side adjacent the delivery tube, whereby carriers issuing from the delivery tube may have a tendency on engagement with the member to move the latter to its position across the entrance of the sending tube.

2. In a pneumatic dispatch terminal comprising a substantially air-tight receptacle, a normally closed door for the receptacle, and delivery and sending tubes terminating within the receptacle, the combination of a pivotal support disposed adjacent the entrance to the sending tube, a member mounted on this support for movement between a position to obstruct this tube and a position to clear the tube, abutment means for limiting movement of the member as it arrives at the tube clearing position, these parts being so constructed and arranged that the member is in an unstable condition when in the tube clearing position and tends normally to return to the tube obstructing position.

3. In a pneumatic dispatch terminal comprising a substantially air-tight receptacle, 2. normally closed door for the receptacle, and delivery and sending tubes terminating within the receptacle, the combination of a member mounted to pivot adjacent the sending tube and at the side thereof remote from the door, the member being movable from a position across the entrance to the sending tube to a position wherein the at a point spaced approximately equally between the doors, the member being movable between a position across the entrance to the dispatch tube and an upper position wherein the member leaves the entrance to the dispatch tube substantially unobstructed, the outer end portion of the member being in the form of laterally diverging tongues, each tongue curving upwardly and outwardly toward one of the doors for engagement by a carrier thrust therethrough, whereby the member is moved to its upper position to permit the carrier to enter the dispatch tube. CHESTER S. JENNINGS. 

